Oil change: pre-winter or post winter?

[RockerGuy]

That seems a little long to me..... but if your service manual says that, do what you will. Mine says to change every 6,000 km's or 6 months (excluding winter storage).

Whatever your bike is... change according to the recommended service table in your owner's manual. Unless you're riding in race/track environments, in which case should be much sooner (after every race weekend or every second track day).

If I don't follow the recommended factory specs, it's because I'm changing oil sooner, never later.

My oil analysis also say I'm good to 12k, but I change at 10k. Ran 2 separate analysis with 2 different oil. Part of a good experiment is repeatability

 

[EngineerJoe]

I'm surprised there isn't a storage sticky. I'll try to put the bike away this up coming weekend (I've tried to do this three times and always found an excuse to take it out again). I have everything I need to do it, just hoping we'll have one more good weekend so I can get the most out of my first riding season.

So far, this is the plan.

1. Oil + filter change. I'll likely do this in the morning before my ride.
2. Add fuel stabilizer to the tank and then top off the tank with fuel. The ride home will ensure entire system has the fuel w/ stabilizer
3. Place bike on stands and clean chain and bike.
4. Cover intake and plug exhaust with oily rag to keep dust/dirt out
5. Remove spark plug and add 1 teaspoon of oil to each cyl. (as per owner's manual)
6. Put battery on a battery tender.
7. Cover Bike.

Anything I'm missing?

 

[silverbullet132]

I'm surprised there isn't a storage sticky. I'll try to put the bike away this up coming weekend (I've tried to do this three times and always found an excuse to take it out again). I have everything I need to do it, just hoping we'll have one more good weekend so I can get the most out of my first riding season.

So far, this is the plan.

1. Oil + filter change. I'll likely do this in the morning before my ride.
2. Add fuel stabilizer to the tank and then top off the tank with fuel. The ride home will ensure entire system has the fuel w/ stabilizer
3. Place bike on stands and clean chain and bike.
4. Cover intake and plug exhaust with oily rag to keep dust/dirt out
5. Remove spark plug and add 1 teaspoon of oil to each cyl. (as per owner's manual)
6. Put battery on a battery tender.
7. Cover Bike.

Anything I'm missing?

Teaspoon of oil in the cyl's seems like overkill for short term storage to me.

 

[Vlad]

Anything I'm missing?

You are not telling us where the bike will be stored.

The list is mostly fine - I would just add spraying it generously with WD40 and would skip oil in cylinders. If it will be stored in a garage (heated or not, with decent air flow) I would use a light breathable dust cover, not a waterproof one - airplane blankets in my case. Also, if the garage has a power outlet I would plug the bike directly to the battery tender. Garages are usually colder than the living spaces which is better for the battery and you don't have to put it back in the spring. If you insist on taking the battery out make sure it's kept somewhere cold and constantly connected to a good maintainer/trickle charger. Fully charged Battery stored at room temperature will self-discharge within weeks, to the point of getting damaged. The same battery will be fine for months if stored in the freezer, even without trickle charging (yes, the freezer - the battery won't freeze at -20 if it's any good).

Ah yes - drain the oil when the engine is at the operating temperature, i.e. after a short ride. I usually leave it to drain overnight, put new oil/filter in the morning, go for another short ride or warm it up in the garage, let it settle, check the oil level again and top up/drain if necessary (I have an oil drain valve, so draining a bit to adjust the level is easy).

 

[Gryphon]

Neither. Change it when it's due.
The only exception is when the change is almost due (less than quarter life left) when the season is over...

I agree with Vlad ~90%
It's not good to change fairly fresh oil before winter storage.
(Waste of coin, plus bad for enviroment.)
But I blame the owner for a witless schedule, not arranging things so the oil change occurs just before storage!
I say oil should really be changed before storage (if your bike is a keeper).
But if it's fairly fresh it's not a good thing.
If it's really fresh you should probably leave it in...
And think about these matters (and plan better) next season!
Again, used motor oil is highly acidic and filled with fine particulate matter in suspension (mostly clutch material, in bikes).
Therefore bikes are a special circumstance and things are different for cars...

 

[Vlad]

I agree with Vlad ~90%

I'm glad someone does, there's too much unnecessary mystification. Now, about those 10%

But I blame the owner for a witless schedule, not arranging things so the oil change occurs just before storage!

It's easy for those that change oil once a year and those that change it over five times a season. Those between the extremes can't arrange things nearly as easily.

I say oil should really be changed before storage (if your bike is a keeper).

I say the change should be considered - not performed religiously.

Again, used motor oil is highly acidic and filled with fine particulate matter in suspension (mostly clutch material, in bikes).

This statement would carry 9 of those 10% we differ at. Oil acidity is a highly exaggerated boogeyman. Modern oils have plenty of anti-oxidants and other additives that reduce acidity build-up or eliminate it's effects. A bike that has 5,000km on good quality synthetic oil will not get damaged by sitting idle for three months, period. As for particulate matter, that's what oil filters are for.

Let's not exaggerate. A bike needs to sit with very old/worn oil for very long before any damage would occur. When push comes to shove, you can always just follow your bike's manual and rest assured that you are overdoing it by a fair margin. Manuals I've seen say nothing about changing oil ahead of the already very conservative schedule.

 

[silverbullet132]

So judging by the above message, Rotella T6 with lets say 2000km on it would be fine?

 

[EngineerJoe]

You are not telling us where the bike will be stored.

Corner of my garage. I will still be parking my Jeep in there throughout the winter so I never have to clear the snow off in the morning.

The list is mostly fine - I would just add spraying it generously with WD40 and would skip oil in cylinders. If it will be stored in a garage (heated or not, with decent air flow) I would use a light breathable dust cover, not a waterproof one - airplane blankets in my case. Also, if the garage has a power outlet I would plug the bike directly to the battery tender. Garages are usually colder than the living spaces which is better for the battery and you don't have to put it back in the spring. If you insist on taking the battery out make sure it's kept somewhere cold and constantly connected to a good maintainer/trickle charger. Fully charged Battery stored at room temperature will self-discharge within weeks, to the point of getting damaged. The same battery will be fine for months if stored in the freezer, even without trickle charging (yes, the freezer - the battery won't freeze at -20 if it's any good).

I forgot the part about spraying parts of the bike with either WD40 or a rust inhibitor. That will be on the list as well. I should add that the battery will be left in the bike.

Ah yes - drain the oil when the engine is at the operating temperature, i.e. after a short ride. I usually leave it to drain overnight, put new oil/filter in the morning, go for another short ride or warm it up in the garage, let it settle, check the oil level again and top up/drain if necessary (I have an oil drain valve, so draining a bit to adjust the level is easy).

I was thinking of draining it cold only so I could circulate the oil throughout my ride. Better than riding - draining - riding s'more.

Edit: I had the oil changed slightly after the 1000km mark and now I'm just shy of 4000km.

 

[Vlad]

So judging by the above message, Rotella T6 with lets say 2000km on it would be fine?

Yep, perfectly fine. If I could lay my hands on that fine synthetic oil people discard after only 1-2,000Km I would never buy another drop in my life.

I was thinking of draining it cold only so I could circulate the oil throughout my ride. Better than riding - draining - riding s'more.

Cold oil is thicker and won't drain as fast and as thoroughly as when it's hot. However, you don't have to ride the bike to either warm it up for drainage or circulate it after filling. Just make sure the engine is warmed up properly both times. I'm going for a ride because the weather permits it and I'm sure it will heat up the engine properly without overheating, that's all.

Edit: I had the oil changed slightly after the 1000km mark and now I'm just shy of 4000km.

So your bike is new, right? 4,000Km is OK for an oil change then, especially since it will be stored for a while. This is a good time to switch to synthetic oil if you want and haven't done it already.

BTW, there is no such thing as an "oil change" - it's a mere refresh or partial change. To what extent, depends on the bike and whether you change the filter as well. On the oil cooled Bandit 24-28% of old oil always remains in the engine. Other bikes are different, but not by much.